Times Are Changing
by wrestlefan4
Summary: Slightly AU for ppl at Hogwarts together Bellatrix insanity, Snape and his sharp wit, crazy people dueling by the Black Lake, a breaking friendship between Snape and Evans, a duel in the Prefects Bathroom, Snapes underpants, and a Dark decision.


Times Are Changing

For: Yhu  
Includes: Bellatrix Black, Lily Evans, Severus Snape, James Potter, Lucius Malfoy, and mentions of others.  
Note: I reference Stephen King's "The Stand" in this fic. I debated over and over if I should include it or not, as the book was not actually published until a couple of years after this fic would be taking place. In the end I decided to keep it, because I liked it too much to leave out. Harry Potter belongs to Rowling, The Stand belongs to King, nothing belongs to me. :)

-

The line it is drawn  
The curse it is cast  
The slow one now  
Will later be fast  
As the present now  
Will later be past  
The order is  
Rapidly fadin'  
For the times they are a-changin'.

-Bob Dylan

-x-

Bellatrix leaned over the table, her lips twisted into a snarl, her eyes heavy lidded and narrowed, as she watched Narcissa simper over Lucius. They were hardly studying—or at least they weren't studying their books—they had not turned a page in it for ages now. Bellatrix had no legitimate reason to dislike Lucius, however, that did not stop her from feeling so anyway. She should have been glad her sister was attached to a Pure-blood from an old, respectable, wizarding family. At least Cissy was not threatening to be another Dromeda. Bellatrix was still attempting to straighten her younger sister, who insisted upon having affections for a disgusting Mudblood. Bellatrix often screamed at Andromeda, that she would drive their poor mother mad, and that she would be blown off the Black family tapestry, if she carried on in a way so unbeffitting a daughter of The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black.

Bella snorted, and turned towards Severus, who sat next to her, hunched over his second-hand potions book. His greasy hair hung down onto the table, and his nose nearly touched the pages, as he filled up the margins with his small, elegant writing. Bella peeked over, craning this way and that to try and see what he was doing.

_Sectumsempra,_ Snape had written, _For enemies._

Snape underlined this, and then snapped the book closed. He turned to Bella, eyes narrowed, lips pressed together thinly.

"Mind your own business," He groused.

"Accio Snape's book!" Bella cackled, and the book whipped out of Snape's grasp, and into hers.

"Give it back," Severus said, his voice going quieter with his annoyance. He glared at her as she flipped the cover open.

"Property of the..." Bellatrix faltered, her crazy-amused expression drooping.

Snape zapped her hand with a stinging hex, and Bella dropped the book. Snape quickly picked it up, and straightened in his chair, to see Bella gazing at him with the wrath of a thousand fires glittering in her less-than-sane eyes.

"Half-blood!" She shrieked, so several students turned to look at them. Any minute Madam Pince would be storming over, and her offended cries would rain down upon them.

"Very good, Bellatrix," Snape sneered. "I see you can read. I suppose all that inbreeding has not scrambled your mind as much as previously assumed."

Bella's face contorted in rage. By now Cissy had dislodged herself from Lucius, and her small white hands scrabbled at Bella's shoulders and back, attempting to calm or restrain her.

"Please, Bella, get hold of yourself!" Narcissa whispered against Bella's ear.

Bellatrix panted, her eyes wild and wide, as she looked down upon Snape, whose face remained rather impassive despite having incurred the unpredictable wrath of Bellatrix Black. With a growl Bella jerked free of her sisters grasp, and stormed out of the library, letting hexes fly at bookshelves as she went, sending old tomes flying from their places, and clamoring to the floor in heaps of leather and torn pages.

Once out of the library Bellatrix spun on her heel, and slammed her fisted hands against the stone wall in dismay and anger. Despite the ragged, poor, look of him, Bellatrix had harbored a crush upon Severus Snape. Though Snape was not a name Bellatrix had ever recognized as a prominent Pure-blood family, she had always thought that he must be. Snape was a Slytherin after all, and Lucius thought so highly of him, surely Snape must be a Pure-blood born of a lesser known family who had fallen onto hard times.

But he was not. He was a dirty Half-blood, tainted.

Bellatrix stormed down the hallway, and children scattered in her wake, fearful of her, or pressed themselves against the wall, in hopes of remaining unnoticed. In her frenzy she could send hexes towards anything that moved.

It simply wasn't fair that Snape should be a Half-blood. She ground her teeth together, thoughts flying through her head, colliding and crashing, in a psychological chaos. It explained why Snape had a disgusting attachment to that filthy little Mudblood bitch. Bellatrix and the others had been gnawing at Snape for years now, attempting to break him away from Evan's bewitchment, but still he tagged along after her like a puppy after a bone it would never be able to chew.

Well, perhaps Bellatrix couldn't have Snape now. Her dark sexual fantasies with the pale, ill-tempered, waif had been thwarted with a single word. Her daydream of them serving the Dark Lord together, consummating their dark love in pools of spilled blood, upon the earth saturated with their victory, could be no more. She had imagined the ebb and flow of their power as they brutalized each other with hands, lips, and teeth, in lust and celebration of the day which drew nearer upon them with each midnight raid—the oncoming reign of their Lord, and of Magic, drawing closer and closer, rushing forward and nearly on them as a powerful orgasm. Her nails would bite his tender ivory skin and he would arch beneath the delicious pain of it. She would ride him until there was nothing left of them but frayed edges, uncontainable bursts of magic, wide eyes black and fathomless in the moonlight, and he would cry out her name and together they would scream their climax. He would fill her deep, his dark seed would overflow her, and stain her thighs with their perfect union.

But no, the moon would never bear witness to their mad, animalistic, rutting.

It infuriated her.

He would rather have that Mudblood than her anyway, and it didn't really matter now, did it?

But it did. Oh, it mattered. If she could not have Severus Snape, then that wench would not have him either. Bellatrix would in time need to find another to direct her obsessive flame of passion upon—someone who would appreciate it—but for now it would be her one goal to drive Snape away from the Mudblood.

-x-

"She's unnatural," Bellatrix spat.

Snape raised a thick eyebrow.

"Unnatural? If you're speaking of her blood-status-"

"UNNATURAL!" Bellatrix shouted, as she and Snape walked towards the Black Lake. They were meeting Lucius, Cissy, Rodolphus and Rabastan. "She prefers women!"

Snape snorted.

"Lily does not prefer women," Snape snapped.

"Yes she does! I heard-"

Snape cut across her.

"I do not care what you have heard, Bellatrix," Snape's frown deepened.

"Ohhh smitten Severus, will you never see the bitch for what she is?" Bellatrix sang, and circled him even as they walked. "I'll show you. I'll prove it to you," Bellatrix halted in front of Snape, coming so close to him she trod upon his toes. Snape jabbed his wand into her ribs, and hissed.

"Too close, Bellatrix," His black eyes captured hers, and her breath was stolen for a moment. "Move, or I will move you."

Bellatrix stepped out of his way, and watched after him as he stormed off, slouch-shouldered, thin, angular, towards the edge of the Black Lake where the others waited. After he was a distance ahead of her, she finally gathered her senses, and took off after him, pelting across the spring-green grass.

"I'll show you, Snape!" She cried, hurtling into the midst of the gathered group. Cissy dropped her head into her hands, and Lucius patted Cissy's shoulder, in a feeble attempt to soothe her.

"You look delicious when you're in a frenzy, Bella," Rodolphus leered.

Snape seemed untroubled by any of it, and sat down quietly, watching from beneath his lashes.

"Shut up!" Bella cried, and fired a hex at Rodolphus, who had not expected it. He leaped to his feet, his hair smoldering, and drew his wand prepared for a duel.

"Put your wands away, or I'll feed the pair of you to the Giant Squid!" Lucius threatened, coming between Bella and Rodolphus.

"OUT OF MY WAY, MALFOY!" Rodolphus cried.

Narcissa was not sure which of them was more unstable—her sister, or Rodolphus LeStrange. She certainly did not want Lucius caught in the middle, and she scampered over to him, tugging at his sleeve and pleading with him to stay out of it. Rodolphus and Bellatrix fired hexes over Lucius' head. Lucius yipped, and ducked just quickly enough to avoid them. Narcissa shrieked.

"Now, see here!" Lucius roared. "I'm Pre-" Before Lucius could finish announcing his title, as if the rest of the group did not know it, he was blasted backwards and into the Black Lake.

"Lucius!" Narcissa wailed, and crawled towards the muddy edge of the lake.

"Expelliarmus!" Said Snape, and the wands of Bella and Rodolphus flew from their hands, and into Snape's long fingers.

"Why didn't you do that before!" Narcissa yelled at Snape over her shoulder, as she tugged a sputtering Lucius out of the lake weeds and frothing water. Snape's lips curled into a small, amused smile.

"Who am I to interfere with the proper traditions of Pure-blood society?" Snape quipped.

-x-

Bellatrix made it a habit of bothering Evans every time she saw Snape with her. Bellatrix flirted with her, came onto her, and even groped her once, which had earned her a toe-nail growing hex from Snape.

"I don't need you to protect me, Sev," Lily said, holding up her own wand. "I can protect myself, you know."

Snape's shoulders slumped a bit, as he was reprimanded for taking up for her. He didn't understand why Lily was offended. Didn't she understand his concern for her? Yet it was fine for her to come to his aid when Potter and his daft group of numbskulls outnumbered Snape. She was upset with Snape when he grew annoyed at her continuing rescues—he was frankly embarrassed by it. Women were hard to decode.

"Besides," Lily continued, as she and Snape continued on towards the Great Hall. "I kind of like it. It's fun. Bella thinks she's getting to me, and it's a laugh! It doesn't make me uncomfortable that she's flirting with me-"

"It...it doesn't?" Snape interrupted, his mood falling even further.

"Not at all," Lily grinned. "It's the seventies, Sev."

"I am aware."

"Besides," Lily continued. "I dish it out just as well, and I'm sure Bella would be more bothered by my advances than I am by hers. Could you imagine it, me a nasty Muggleborn witch interested in the dignified Pure-blood greatness of Bellatrix Black? Ha! She would just die, Sev!"

Severus frowned hard. He was not nearly as amused as Lily was.

"She shouldn't touch you," Snape said quietly. "I don't want her touching you like that."

Lily gave him a playful shove.

"Stop being such a stick-in-the-mud! It'll be fun."

-x-

Lily was correct. Ever since Lily had been returning Bella's advances, Bella had been quite unsettled. It had turned into some strange sort of game—she and Lily trying to one-up each other with flirtation—neither wanting to back down. Bellatrix was intent upon proving her point to Snape, who despite Lily's advancements, still refused to believe what Bellatrix saw as truth. Snape told her that Lily was just goading Bellatrix, egging her on as amusement, but Bellatrix knew better. She was right, and Lily was unnatural, unfit for Snape not only because she was a Mudblood. How could Snape still cling to her? Bellatrix was too eaten up by her own game to realize she was damaging her character in the process. From all other views it appeared that Bellatrix was pursuing Lily, and this was certainly not beffitting of a daughter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, as Narcissa had begun to remind her. Bellatrix often snapped at Cissy and her Housemates, turning on them and screaming, that she was proving a point about Evans, and that she would rather kiss a slug than to set her lips upon the mouth of a Mudblood. In Bellatrix's head her meaning and position was clear enough.

"You shouldn't provoke her," Snape said to Lily, as they sat on the grass beneath their tree. "She's utterly crackers, you know."

"I can handle myself," Lily stated, and she flipped a page in a Muggle written book—Stephen King's "The Stand". Lily was nearly finished with it. "You know, I really like this book, Sev." She looked over at him, regarding his profile. He seemed sad as he twirled his quill between his slender fingers. "We're going to have to make our own stand pretty soon."

Severus knew what she was referring to. He said nothing.

"Whose side will you stand on, Sev?"

Lily's vibrant green eyes captured his. Her emotions seemed to well up in them. Her fiery lashes surrounded the emerald entrancement, she did not blink. Snape again did not answer her, but she saw the conflict in his eyes. Lily looked away from him, and sighed. There should be no conflict if he truly cared for her. Lily gathered her books, her anger at his non-response edging in over her disappointment and hurt.

"Lily-" Snape grabbed at the sleeve of her robe, meaning to stop her. "Wait!"

"No!" Lily yanked her sleeve out of his grasp, and ran towards the castle, unshed tears stinging at her eyes.

Snape slammed his head down upon his bony knees, angry with himself. The dull pain shot through his forehead. He gripped his lank hair in frustration. He could never do anything right. He could never figure out what to say to her when she asked him such pointed questions—she disarmed him of his sharp wit and cynical quips, and he was lost with only a few words left upon his tangled tongue, and he was too afraid to say them, too afraid to tell her that he loved her, always.

-x-

Lily wandered the castle in an attempt to calm herself. She could not believe that she was losing her best friend to The Dark Arts, to Voldemort, to radical ideas that would have her dead at his feet. She had been after him for years to quit hanging around with that group of Slytherins—she didn't care that they were his Housemates, that he wanted to be included, that they admired him for his skills—those things did not matter. Couldn't he see that there were greater things going on here than this? He was adjoining himself to dangerous people, and he was succumbing to them, and drawing away from her.

Angrily Lily swept her tears away with the back of her freckled hand. She found herself on the fifth floor, and no calmer than when she had started out. She was thrown off balance when suddenly tackled—Bellatrix had lunged out from behind the statue of Boris The Bewildered. Before Lily could act, Bella had dragged her towards the door to the Prefects Bathroom, screamed the password (no doubt she had wheedled it out of Malfoy) and dragged Lily inside.

"Ha!" Bellatrix barked. "Now I've got you! We'll see who is unnatural now, we'll see, Mudblood cunt!"

Lily bit down into Bellatrix's arm. Bellatrix uttered a groan of pain, but to Lily's surprise, Bellatrix did not release her grasp.

"Naughty bitch," Bella whispered against Lily's ear. "How do I taste?"

"Like flobberworm shit," Lily panted, and drew her wand from the sleeve of her robe.

"Stup-"

"EXSPELLIARMUS!" Bellatrix shrieked, and Lily's wand flew into the air, and skittered over the stone floor.

Bellatrix threw Lily to the floor, and put the redhead into a body bind. Bella stood over Lily, with her wand raised. She imagined she was casting the Cruciatus Curse. Bella imagined Lily's body—curvy even at fifteen—writhing upon the floor. Lily's back would arch, her legs would twist, hiking her skirt up to reveal her milky speckled thighs, and her panties. Her breasts would heave at her shirt, and maybe one of her buttons would even pop, and a round, seductive, teasing peek of flesh would show itself. Lily's fiery hair would wreath her head like a halo, her face contorted with pain, glistening with perspiration. Her pretty lips would open upon moans of pain, and Bellatrix would eat them up, and draw more of them from her, until the Mudblood was desperate for release.

Bellatrix dove to her knees, and crawled towards Lily, who lay still on the floor, though in Bella's mind Lily was doing much more.

"You like it, filth!" Bellatrix snarled, and she spread Lily's legs, and dipped her head down.

Bellatrix's hand slid up Lily's thigh, and she shoved up the pleats of Lily's uniform skirt. The Mudblood wore a pair of simple black cotton panties, but they looked exotically delicious stretched over Lily's woman-hips. Bellatrix dipped her head further, hovering above Lily's panties. She sniffed. Her eyes shone with madness.

"Yes, you like it, Mudblood. I can smell how much you like it. You know you deserve to be punished for being so filthy! Wait until Severus hears about you. Wait until he knows what kind of scum you are-"

Bellatrix slithered up Lily's body, and her lips hovered close to Lily's as she drank in rage washing over and over those brilliant eyes.

With a cry Lily lunged forward as hard as she could—she had felt the bind begin to lessen. Her teeth found Bellatrix's lips, and Lily bit down hard. She tasted Bella's blood. Bellatrix did not retreat. She returned Lily's "kiss" just as harshly, screaming between their mouths, "You like it!"

Lily and Bella wrestled, as the spell dissolved, allowing Lily free of her bind. Lily rammed her knees upwards, colliding with Bella's stomach. The wild-haired Slytherin rolled off of Lily, clutching her stomach, and laughing. Lily sped to her wand, dropped to her knees, and grabbed it. She spun on her heel and cast a shield charm just as Bella had crawled to her knees and attempted to disarm Lily again. The two dueled around the bathroom. Stray spells hit the walls, the portrait of the mermaid, and a couple faucets were hit and exploded into geysers of colorful, sweet-smelling, water and foam. With a final cry like the roar of Gryffindor's mascot, Lily pointed her wand at Bella, and used a spell that Sev had crafted. Bella flew into the air, upside down, and her robe fell over her head, and her skirt flipped up, revealing a pair of pink knickers with yellow flowers. Lily laughed, and let Bellatrix down over the Prefect's Bathtub, and she disappeared with a splash into the foamy water.

Lily hurtled towards the door, and before leaving, she glanced over her shoulder. A sopping, drowned-looking Bellatrix was heaving herself out of the water.

-x-

Lily's week had not been good at all. Bellatrix's harassment was far worse than Potter's—though Lily despised them both and had daydreams about blasting them both into tiny bits. She hadn't spoken to Sev the entire week, either. After the incident under the tree, she just couldn't bring herself to approach him. He had approached her a few times, offering his apology, but she did not know how she could accept it. The more she thought, however, the more conflicted she was. Severus had not, after all, stood up and fervently declared his allegiance to the Dark Lord. He had simply looked at her, without answering, his eyes full of swarming, twisting, non-answers, and private thoughts that he would not share with her.

She had tried over and over again to impart to him how critical it was that he was not drawn in by these people, but still he gravitated towards them. Why?

Lily stood by the Black Lake with a group of girls, looking into the murky depths. She picked up a smooth, flat stone, and skipped it across the lake. She was instantly reminded of how she had done this many summers, with Sev, skipping stones over the dirty river that snaked around the outskirts of Spinner's End. It was Sev who had taught her how to do it, to toss the rock at a certain angle, and they had often spent the warm, early mornings, having contests to see who could make the most skips. They were simple times, when their friendship was not in such grave danger of being lost. In those moments with him she had never imagined that these days would come—she imagined like the innocent little girl she had been—that they could be best friends forever.

Suddenly, Lily was drawn out of her thoughts. She realized there was a commotion going on, and turned to see what it was. A crowd had gathered around, and Lily could see James with his wand raised, and Sirius nearby. Lily stormed up the bank, shoved through the outer circle of spectators, and saw Snape on the ground, foaming at the mouth, choking on pink bubbles. Lily's protectiveness surged up inside of her, and she wheeled on Potter, yelling.

She began to argue at James, who looked pompous as ever, his ridiculous hair purposefully messed up. He offered to leave Snape be if she went out with him—Lily would prefer the Giant Squid. Snape had gotten his wand again, and he pointed it at Potter, pink soap bubbles and thick strands of spit still dripping from his chin. There was a flash of green light, and then Snape was suspended, upside down, above the gathered circle. People in the crowd were actually cheering, as Snape hung there, his robes down over his head and his thin, pale, legs and graying briefs revealed to all of them. Sirius, James, and Peter were all roaring with laughter.

Lily's furious expression twitch for a moment—for a moment she had remembered Bella, and her pink and flowery panties, and the look on her face as she had pulled herself out of the foam.

"Let him down!"

James did let Snape down, but the harassment continued. Lily demanded again for the curses to be taken off of Snape. James reluctantly muttered the countercurse.

"There you go," He said, as Snape struggled to his feet again.

Snape was beyond embarrassed, and enraged. He could not even look over his exam questions in peace! These pompous, disgusting, Gryffindor bastards just had to come after him and make him their game. Everyone loved to laugh at Severus Snape, the poor, awkward, greasy, big-nosed, Slytherin. The circle of people pointing and laughing at his pathetic attempts were bad enough—but then there was Lily. Once again she had come flying to his rescue, battling his foes, as if he were some helpless maiden in distress. Yet she resented his help. She pushed him away. She made judgments about his character just like all of the others—he had not joined with the Dark Lord, but Lily had already made her mind up that he would do it, that he would betray their friendship, that he would align himself with a man who wanted her dead—how could she!

Snape was beside himself with rage at all of them. He wobbled on weakened legs. James looked at him with that constant better-than-you look of his, with his stupid fucking hair messed up, with his stupid fucking glasses on his stupid fucking face, and smiled at Snape as if nothing had happened at all.

"You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus-"

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" Snape exploded, unable to contain the breaking storm within himself any longer.

Lily blinked, her breath stuck in her chest. Her stomach clenched into a tight knot. She played it off as well as she could, not wanting to cry in front of any of them, though she could feel tears threatening.

"Fine," she said coolly, "I won't bother in the future...and I'd wash my pants too if I were you, _Snivellus."_

"Apologize to Evans!" James roared.

"I don't want you to make him apologize!"

And she and James began arguing again, as Snape stood amidst the circle of goggling students, paralyzed with shock at what he had just said to her.

"-I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK!"

Lily finished her tirade, and stormed away from James, and away from Snape, for good.

-x-  
Bella flew across the lawn gleefully. Lucius and the usual Slytherin crew followed some way behind her. She had not been in the crowd for what had happened, but she had heard. She rushed towards the spot where she saw a small, white, hunched finger upon the grass. Snape sat upon the lawn, completely naked, his clothing gathered into his lap. James had continued to harass him after Lily had stormed off, not ending until Snape was striped of every stitch of his clothing in front of his peers. It was finally then that staff had arrived, and carted James, and Sirius, off to the Headmasters office. Other teachers took members of their Houses back towards the castle, and Snape was left alone to gather his clothes off of the grass. He was able to get everything but his Slytherin tie, which James had blasted towards the Black Lake.

"I told you!" Bella screeched. "I told you what she did to me in the Prefects bathroom, and how she loved what I did to her, but you wouldn't believe me! Now look!" Bella cackled at Snape's bowed form, not noticing the way his hunched shoulders trembled. His greasy hair hung down, hiding his face from her, but for the tip of his nose.

"She doesn't want you! She left you here!"

"Enough!" Lucius said firmly, approaching with the others.

Lucius saw Severus was naked, and recognized the shaking of his shoulders, and Lucius quickly ushered the rest of the group, including Bella, to stand back. Lucius cast a charm over himself and Snape to conceal them from the others, and he knelt down.

"Severus, you must get dressed," Lucius said, and he took Snape's clothes out of his lap.

"I—I-d-don't...n-need...your help!" Severus sniffed, his voice so quiet, and broken with tears.

"Severus, it's alright. I'm not judging you, I'm not laughing at you, come now," Lucius helped Severus to his feet, and helped the younger boy dress. Snape's head remained bowed, and he leaned heavily on Lucius. He was ashamed of his nakedness, ashamed of his tears, and of his lost temper...he had ruined it all beyond repair.

"They'll pay soon, Severus," Lucius said, fussing over Snape's robe, and attempting to smooth the wrinkles. "Where is your tie?"

"Lake," Severus said, and dragged his hand across his eyes, and then his nose.

"Well then, you shall have my spare," Lucius placed a hand on Snape's slumped shoulders. "Severus, you listen to me. They will pay soon. They cannot get away with such disrespect. You know you would be protected within our circles—the Dark Lord greatly desires a young wizard of your talents—he is aware of your brilliance, your power, your potential..."

Snape sniffed again, his eyes still swimming. His mind was fogged with thoughts of Lily, and now Lucius' words swam there too, and tangled around everything. It was not the first time Snape had been told these things; he was often reminded of the place that was open to him, if he only accepted it. He looked into Lucius' silver eyes, searching them for any treachery, but he saw none. Was it really, truly possible, that someone had found worth in him? That someone desired him as he was? Was it true that he could be respected, powerful, no longer the butt of jokes and the game of bullies, no longer judged by his heritage, appearance, or bristly personality, but evaluated by his mind, skill, and magic?  
Lucius rolled up the sleeve of his robe and shirt. He lifted Snape's numb feeling hand, and traced Snape's finger along the design of his Dark Mark.

"Where will you stand, Severus?"

A shiver twisted down Snapes spine—earlier that week Lily had asked him the same question. He was being pushed closer and closer the ledge of decision, and the unstable rock beneath his feet was crumbling, and he would have to make the best move...

_And not for her,_ a voice said at the back of his head.

No, Severus would have to make this decision for himself.

He did not wish to be hung over a crowd of jeering students, and disrobed.

Snape traced the Mark, and he knew he did not wish to be naked any longer. Yes, he would be branded.

"Tell the Dark Lord when you see him next..." Snape looked up from the Mark, back to Lucius' silver eyes which glittered back at his own black ones, which were puffed and swollen with his grief. "Tell him he has my allegiance."

Lucius grinned like a pleased cat, and dropped the charm which concealed them.

"Very good, dear Severus," Lucius drawled.

Lucius and Snape walked towards the others, and Lucius grinned even wider.

"Dear Severus has pledged himself to the Dark Lord," He said, and suddenly Snape was not surrounded by peers who were laughing, and jeering, but peers who clapped him on the back, and welcomed him as one of them.

Together the cluster of Slytherins walked back towards Hogwarts Castle.

-x-


End file.
